Holy Week 2024: EP 7 – Invitations

Black Saturday.

“Any Israelite who looks upon this bronze serpent and believes in the power of God will be healed. It’s an act of faith… not reason. Faith.”

I wonder why this episode started with scene of Moses and Joshua when people are dying because of the serpent’s bite. Moses is being commanded by God to make a bronze serpent where people will look upon and they will be healed. Joshua didn’t get it and that’s how Moses just said it because he also doesn’t know the reason. He just took action and followed with faith.

It got me thinking when Matthew asked Gaius this question, “What if you were suddenly the only Roman in Capernaum?”, then Gaius answered, “I think I’d change clothes.”, to which Matthew concluded, “Exactly. When you realize that nobody else in the world cares what happens to you, you think only about yourself.”

This made me questioned what Matthew really wanted to say until he had a deep conversation with his mother where he uttered a lot of questions in his head. He had an extraordinary talent despite that probably made his movement different from the norm. He’s a genius and after seeing how Jesus makes miracle, he got confused about the things he had known by his intellect. Perhaps, because he knows his abnormality, he studied everything, sharpened his mind and move away from his town where people doesn’t know about his imperfection. And now, after meeting Jesus, he questioned how impossible things could happen, that he thought he already know everything until he witnessed how miracles happen that no one can explain.

I’m surprised to know that Nicodemus have been invited too to be one of Jesus’ disciples. But he was not being mentioned as one. This could be because he refused the invitation despite of his deep admiration and believe in Jesus’ doing.  He may have been agonizing about many things if he follow Jesus being one of the Pharisee leaders and ruler of the Jews. We may really not sure about his reason but this for sure many of us could relate. How our mind thinks of danger can really break someone’s faith.

On the other hand, Matthew was invited by Jesus to follow him in a more unexpected situation – during his working hours. Jesus didn’t explain a thing to Matthew unlike how he explains things to Nicodemus. Yet Matthew, despite of the riches he possess, the comfort life he has, that he could have leave behind by following Jesus, without a thought, left everything and decided to follow Jesus.

With these two invitations, you can determine how you act with faith for something you’re not sure about where it can lead you and how you act with fear or doubt. Have you wonder how you usually take action or make a decision over things especially those with at risk? Are you aware how you sometimes take action with faith and take action due to fear or doubt? How often could it be?

Holy Week 2024: EP 1 – I Have Called You By Name

Palm Sunday.

I met Lilith today. Mary of Magdala as what Jesus called her. She’s the first person introduced. She’s that sinful woman or that prostitute mentioned on the Gospels who anointed Jesus feet. She was lost here. For me, I think she’s like an image of just anyone of us, not the person we are but at some times in our lives where we feel so lost and don’t know what to do, don’t know how to fight that demons inside us that make us suffer each and every time. We think people around us judge us where in fact, it’s ourselves who first judged. She has a beautiful past where her father always reminds her about this passage:

Isaiah 43:1: “Thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name. You are mine.”

This is so beautiful. When we feel lost, isn’t beautiful to be reminded to not fear for we have been redeemed. We are His people.

I also met Nicodemus – a Pharisee who said to be the ‘teacher of the teachers’. He was called to face and heal Lilith and take demons away from her but he didn’t make it. He got scared just by looking at the eyes of Lilith. On the other hand, there is this scene where Nicodemus had a talk with his wife and uttered these words, “Why? Why must I perform? What sort of performance is this? What do you see in the mirror? Sometimes, I wonder if what we can know of Adonai in the law is just as blurred. What if we’re not seeing the whole picture? What if it’s more beautiful and more strange than we can ever imagine?“ . I don’t know but these questions somehow resonate in me.

Then Matthew got introduced too – the taxman or the tax collector. He appears here to be a well-off man who cannot just look people into their eyes. Why? Isn’t because he’s guilty of taking money out from people’s pocket? I don’t know but yes, he appears like that. You know who represents him to our current times today.  That driver of Matthew caught my attention too. He somehow represents those people who collaborate with these people like Matthew who don’t want people to know he’s making business with him because people may think of him as like Matthew’s image too.

Then I met Simon and Andrew – the brothers. They are the ordinary people who just work from day to day to get by. They are fishermen here. They represent the most of us, people who just work the day to get by. No definite direction, in debt, sometimes, got desperate and do desperate moves, may face challenges and temptations along the way but still wanted to be good people by paying the taxes right. Yes, we’re trying to be good by doing our obligations as we think that if we do our obligations right, we’re good, isn’t?

This is so fascinating to reflect on each character and how we can relate to each of them. We may see ourselves in them or see their situation like ours. We may have questions about this life and always looking for answers. Then, even if we don’t find the answers, we have no choice but to go on with our everyday lives with hope that someday we find them while we’re still alive.